Visa, MasterCard Spend $1M+ Fighting Proposed Rules

Ever wondered what credit card companies spend their billions on? During the first quarter of this year, Visa and Mastercard spent $860,000 and $720,000 respectively fighting against rules proposed to Congress - rules that would protect consumers from high interest rates and fees. Among those are an act that would allow merchants to negotiate transaction fees and limit interest rates charged to consumers.

Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift and Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration proposed legislation that could cut out many unfair and costly practices credit card companies have in place.

A separate prosposed rules would protect merchants against high fees charged on credit card transactions. This would make it cheaper for merchants to accept credit cards.

• Feds Cracking Down on Credit Cards
• Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008
• Gas Stations May Stop Taking Credit Cards